Teen-ager admits involvement in gun incident

A 14-year-old Sykesville boy allegedly abandoned periodically by his father said in juvenile court yesterday that he was involved in pointing a loaded gun at another teen-ager.

His admission of "being involved" in the second-degree offense is similar to a guilty plea in adult court.

The Liberty High School ninth-grader, who was not identified because he is a minor, was arrested May 26 on his way to school, four days after state police became aware of the assault.

A subsequent search of his bedroom turned up a loaded shotgun, more than 200 rounds of ammunition and a jar filled with gunpowder. The gunpowder had been extracted from shotgun shells.

The boy's 47-year-old father was arrested June 3 on child neglect and related charges. He was released on an unsecured $3,000 bond. An Aug. 19 trial date has been scheduled.

The father, who is not being named to protect his son's anonymity, is accused of leaving his son home alone for days at a time with unsupervised access to weapons, ammunitions and explosives.

According to prosecutors, who cannot be specific when discussing a juvenile case, the teen-ager was placed on probation and ordered to undergo counseling. He is no longer living in the community, they said.

According to police, the boy was left without food for up to four days in "deplorable conditions."